Machine for sharpening lawn mowers



March 7, 1939. W 4F. INGLEMAN 2,149,774

MACHINE FOR SHARFENING LAWN MowERs Filed Oot.`l0, 195e 4 sheets-sheet 1 March 7, 1939. w F. INGLEMAN `MAGHINE FOR SFI/ARFENlNG LAWN MOWERS Filedl oct. 1.o, 195e 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,ly v

Mrch 7, 1939. wl F. IVNGLEMAN l MACHINE FOR SHARPENING LAWN MOWERS Filed oct. 10. 193e 4 sheets-sheet s March 7, 1939; wl F. INGLEMAN MACHINE FOR SHARPENING L AWN MOWERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. lO, 1936 Patented Mar. 7, 1939 PATENT oFFIcE MACHINE FOR SHARPENING LAWN MOWERIS William- F. Ingleman, La Fayette, Ind.

Application October10,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvedl mower sharpening machine and seeks", among other objects, to provide a device of this character n which may be employed for sharpening the blades 5' and facing cutter bars of lawn mowers.

Another object of the invention is toy provide a mower sharpening machine which' will grind a mower blade uniformly throughout its length, irrespective of any relatively soft and hard areas.v

Y which may exist along the length of the blade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mower sharpening machine which` may be driven by electric or other power or manually, 'and Which may be readily adjusted for varying thev depth to be cut by the grinding wheel employed.

Anda still further. object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which may be easily assembled and. which will operate satisfactorily for long periods of time without adjustment other than that necessary for an actual sharpening operation.

Other and incidental objects of the invention, not specifically mentioned in the foregoing, will 25V render themselves apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of my application:

Figure 1 is a top'planview of my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional Viewr of theA machine, the stand, or base, being partly broken away.

Figure 3 isa vertical sectional. view on the line 3 -3-of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 4 is an enlarged-fragmentary detail sectional view onthe line L -dof Figure 2'.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary planview showing a mower mounted for af sharpening operation;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail planfview of the adjustable mower support employed.

Figure 7 is afragmentary sectional. View on the line 'I-l of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view showing one of the shaft mountings employed'- Referringv nowmore particularly-` to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals willbel seen to designate like parts throughout the several views, and particularly to Figure, 2L of said: drawings,l the numeral I-indicates iny general a stand, which is formed from lengths of angle shaped steel or other.' metal.. The stand includes legs 2k whichare eiiectually retained inoperative,pjosi- 1,5i tionmeans of diagonally disposed.y braces 3:

1936, Serial No; 105,108

As will be observed, the'legs 2 are'. slightly spread, orl inclined, outwardly toward their lower ends'. The legs' 2 are secured at their upper ends to angle' plates 5? which are bent obliquely outwardly mediauy of` their lengths. and are adapted to be 5 positioned in the corners of a frame or bed 6'. One of the angle plates willI be secured to the innersurfa'cesof each corner of the frame. The frame' 6' includes" end walls 'I and 8, and a top overhanging flange 9. The frame is preferably formed ofv heavy cast metal' sol that a firm mounting is provided for the componentscarried thereby;

In order to support. a mower for acutting operation, I provide a standard III which includes a base plate I`I` normally overlying the flange il of the frame 6'. Rising from. the base plate I-I at opposite ends. thereof are side armsV I2Y and I3 which support a retaining. plate I4. 'The retaining plate isA adapted, to receive the cutter bar I5- of a typical mower I6 for a cutting, operation.V Claws i1' are secured to the retaining plate I4 and are adaptedY to engage. about the edge of the cutter bar and limit said cutter bar against vertical, longitudinal and rearward movement. Any 25" desired number ofthe claws I1.' may be employed, although I' have shown two, one at each end of the retaining plate f4.

best seen in Figures 2 and` 5 ofthe drawings', I employ a pair oil. latches I8, one of which is hingedly connected' tothe sidearms- I2 and I3 atv their lower extremities by means of a suitable stud I9'. The latches. are preferably formedl of heavy metal, veither castor cut from a plate, and

areY provided with aY rearwardly inclined portion 5" 21)"4 which is formedwitha cam face 2If.- As will be seenthe cam face 2l isv adapted to receive thereagainstA thev roller. 232 of the mower I6. An adjusting. bolt 2`3lissecured to each of the side arms I`2`and I3. by means of a studv 24 passing 4U through an. eye formed on the/bolt at its inner endl A wing nut 25A-isvscrewed on the adjusting bolt and isadaptedto-engage afwasher 26.- which abutsthe rear facefoi t-he latchA Iii'directlyl below the inclined portion ZI); Tightening of the'wingv nut 25 will.y serve to-iurge the latch forwardly for forcing the roller 22 andthe mowerl forwardly andy thereby clamping the cutter bar |25 firmly in theclaws I'I on the retaining plate I4. As will be seen, the handle 21 ofthe mower extends rearwardly past the rearv endof the* device thereabove and may be heldf in-a desiredvpositionlby. means 'of a-supporting:` rod 2:8:which 1s provided with.. an4 eyef 29 adapted. to engage: about the.

liliV Z u M manually engageable portion of the handle 21. The rod 28 is flattened at its lower` end portion, as shown at 3G, and is provided with teeth 3l which are adapted to engage selectively a bar 32 extending between a pair of rear legs 2 of the stand. It will be understood that the height of the handle may be adjusted to suit conditions.

The base plate I I is adapted to overlie the overhanging ange 9 of the frame or bed 6, as Will be understood, but said base plate is shiftably connected with the frame by means -of a bolt 3|' which is adapted to extend through the plate II and the overhanging flange 9 and an ear 32'. A spacing sleeve 33 is disposed between the flange 9 and ear 32 while a nut 34 is screwed on the lower end of the bolt 3l As best seen in Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings, the bolt 3| also shiftably connects an adjusting handle 35 with the plate II and, as will be seen clearly in Figure 1 of the drawings, the adjusting handle 35 is substantially T-sha-ped in top plan. The handle includes a shank 36 and a lever portionA 31 which lever portion is provided at its free end.V with a depending pin 38 adapted to extend into a longitudinal slot 39 formed medially of the width of the base plate II. The longitudinal slot is disposed near the rear end of said base plate and is relatively short in extent. As best seen in Figure 1, an arcuate slot 49 is provided in the base plate I I near its rear end and is adapted to extend from a point medially of the rear edge of the plate I I forwardly and obliquely. The arcuate slot is adapted to have disposed therein the bolt 3|. It will be seen that by shifting the shank 36 of the handle 35 forwardly and rearwardly, the plate II of the standard I will be shifted in the manner shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, rearwardly or forwardly, for disposing the mower I6 at a desired angle obliquely with respect to the length ofthe frame 6. In order to permit the clamping of the plate II and standard I0 in a desired position, I provide an oblique slot 42 in the plate I I near one end thereof. The slot 42 is adapted to receive therethrough a clamping bolt 43 having a wing nut 44 thereon. Tightening of said Awing nut will eiectually clamp the plate and standard I0 to the ange 9 of the Vframe 6. From the foregoing'it will be seen that I have provided a standard.

which is readily adjustable and which is capable of effectually mounting a lawn mower for a blade sharpening operation. By reference to the numeral 4I, which indicates the stop, it will also be seen that provision is made for limiting swinging movement of the standard so that proper mounting thereof will be accorded.

In order to permit the sharpening of the cutter bar I of the mower I6, I provide a holder for said cutter bar. The holder is indicated in general by the numeral 45 and includes a holder bar 46 which is formed of heavy metal and is preferably square in shape. The holder bar is secured to the forward end edgesvof the side arms I2 and I3 sub-V stantially medially of Vtheir height. The holder bar is, of course, movable with the Vstandard I0. Surrounding the holder bar 46 near its opposite end portions are clamping sleeves 41 which are adapted to removably carry a cutter bar 48. The cutter bar 48 is adjustably connected with the sleeves 41 by means of tie rods 49 which are ladapted to extend through said sleeves andl are will be seen thatthe cutter bar will'be effectually ation. I employ a carriage 53 which'is movable longitudinally of the frame or bed 6 and comprises a carriage plate 54 which is of a width slightly greater than the inside width between the inner edges of the oppositely disposed overhanging flanges 9. The opposite side edges of the carriage plate are beveled, at 55, throughout their lengths and are adapted to be clamped in position by track rails 56 which are formed with beveled faces corresponding to the beveled faces 55. It will -now be understood that' the carriage plate may be shifted longitudinally of the frame Sibut also limited against upward, downward or lateral movement. The track rails extend substantially one-half the length of the frame 6 and are disposed on the half of the frame opposite that occupied by the standard Ill. The carriage plate isprovided, at its forward end, with a depending lip 51 which is adapted to receive therethrough an adjusting screw 58 provided at its outer end with a crank 59. The adjusting screw and crank are provided, at opposite sides of the 'lip 51, with nuts 60 which will prevent inward and outward movement of the screw and crank with respect to the lip 51j The screw 58 is threaded through the end wall 1 of the frame. Rotation of the crank will move the screw 58 inwardly and outwardly through the wall 1 of the frame so that the carriage plate will be moved longitudinally along the track rails 56 of the carriage 53.

The carriage includes a sub-frame 6I comprising rails 62 and 63 which are connected at their opposite end portions by end plates 64 and 65. The rails 62 and 63 of the sub-frame are connected to the carriage plate 54 by bolts V66 of any suitable number. The end plates 64 and 65 are riveted or otherwise secured to the rails 62 and 63 and said 'end plates are bent upwardly obliquely Vand forwardly to extend past the end of the sub- Vseen to be positioned in parallel spaced relation above the carriage plate 54. The end plates are formed of heavy metal and are of such weight and formation that the forwardly extending portions will provide arigid support for shaft mountings 68 and 69, one cf which is shown in detail in Figure 8 of the drawings. Referring to Figure 8, it will be seen that each of the shaftmountings embodies aY yoke 10 which is provided with opposed set bolts 1I. The yoke 18 is adapted to rotate on the shaft mounting by means of a pin and socket connection 12. Carried by the yokes are bearing sleeves 13 which are heldin place between'the arms of the yokes by means of the set bolts 1I. The bearing sleeves 13 may be adjusted in said yokes by merely shifting the position of said bolts 1I.Y

Rotatably mounted in the bearing sleeves 13 and adapted 'to extend throughout the length of the sub-frame and extend slightly beyond the opposite ends thereof is a drive shaft 14 which is provided with a key 15, preferably formed integral with the shaft 14, and extending throughout the major portion of the length of said shaft. The shaft 14 is provided at its opposite end portions with pulleys 16 and 11 which are spaced from the shaft mountings by means of spacing sleeves 18 and 19. Carried on the shaft 14 and adapted to move longitudinally therealong, is a drive pulley 80. The drive pulley is keyed to rotate with the shaft 14 by means of the key15which is positioned in a key slot formed in the hub of the drive pulley. The drive pulley is provided with an extended hub 8| which is grooved at 82 to receive a shifting fork to be described hereinafter.

Shiftable laterally on the sub-frame 6| is a rectangular platform 83 provided with integral rail flanges 84 which are provided with rollers 85 adapted to engage the upper edges of the rails of the sub-frame 6 The rollers 85 are held in place on the flanges 84 by means of bolts 86 and said rollers permit lateral movement of the platform along the major portion of the length of the subframe 6|.

Mounted on the platform 83, at one corner thereof, being the lower right hand corner as seen in Figure 1 of the drawings, is an electric motor 81. The electric motor is preferably mounted above the platform and is spaced therefrom by upstanding flanges 81'. The electric motor is of conventional design, but, if desired, it may be dispensed with and other driving means employed in lieu thereof. In the event the electric motor is employed, suitable electrical connection will be made thereto. cludes a triple pulley 88 which is of the speed reduction type. A belt 89 connects the outermost pulley surface of the pulley 88 with the drive pulley 88. A bracket 90 is carried on the platform 83 and is provided with'an integral shifting fork 9| which is adapted to engage in the groove 82 for shifting the pulley simultaneously with the shifting of the platform 83. It will be seen that the belt 89 will always be in proper alinement with the outermost pulley surface of the triple pulley 88.

In order to effect a grinding operation on the cutting blades of a lawn mower, I provide a grindstone 92. 'Ihe grindstone 92 is mounted on a supporting bracket which is indicated in general by the numeral 93. The supporting bracket includes an upstanding angle piece 94 which is provided with a medially disposed relatively deep notch 95. The angle plate is held in place by means of bolts l96 which pass through said angle plate and through the platform 83. A bracket supporting bar 91 is adjustably connected with the angle piece 94 and is adapted to extend rearwardly in the direction of the standard |0. The bar 91 is formed with an adjustment slot 98 at its forward end and said bar is held in place on the angle piece 94 by means of a headed bolt 99. A wing nut 99 is screwed on the bolt and is adapted to permit ready adjustment of the bracket supporting bar on the upstanding angle piece. It will be understood that the bracket supporting bar may be moved upwardly and downwardly in the notch and may be shifted longitudinally on said upstanding angle piece. The bracket supporting bar is provided at its forward end with a U-shaped bracket |00 which is adjustably connected to the bracket supporting bar 91 at the rear end of said bar. Carried by the U-shaped bracket |00 in the upper end of each of the legs thereof is a bearing supporting yoke |0| adapted'to support journals or bearins |02 disposed in horizontal alinement and held in position by means of opposed set screws |03 passing through the upper end portions of the obliquely bent recessed pan The electric motor 81 in` arms of the yokes. The grindstone. 92 is rotatably mounted in the journals |02 by means of a stub shaft |04. The grindstone 92 is further provided with a pulley |05 which is adapted to receive a belt |06 thereabout, which belt is adapted to rotatably connect the grindstone with the intermediate pulley surface of the triple pulley 88. If desired, the belt |06 may surround the innermost pulley surface of the triple pulley and the belt 89 may surround the intermediate pulley surface. In this event, however, it would be necessary to change the relative position of the pulleys |05 and 80 with respect tothe pulley 88.

The bracket supportingA bar 91 is provided, intermediate of its length, with a laterally extending slotted ear |01. The ear |01 is adapted to receive an adjusting screw |08 which is adapted to be threaded downwardly through the ear. Mounted on the stub shaft |04 between the grindstone 92 and the journal 02, and at the opposite side of said grindstone from the pulley |05, is a work supporting bracket |09. The bracket is shown in enlarged detail in Figure 6 of the drawings and will be seen to include a hub portion ||0 and a lever portion which terminates in an ||2. The pan ||2 is adapted to receive therein the lower end portion of the adjusting screw |08. The bracket |09 also includes an upwardly extending portion |13 which is provided with bolts H4. A work supporting section ||5 is provided with longitudinal adjusting slots I6. The section |5 is bent laterally at its upper end, as shown at ||1, and said laterally bent portion is provided with a lip ||8. As best seen in Figure 5 of the drawings, after the mower I6 is in position, and the grindstone 92 is moved into place in engagement with one of the blades of the lawn mower rotor, the laterally bent portion ||1 and the lip ||8 will engage the next preceding blade of the rotor and will, when the bracket |09 is rocked upwardly by the tightening of the adjusting screw |08 in the pan |I2, urge the preceding blade and rotor in a counterolock- Wise direction so that the blade being sharpened will be forced against the grindstone for the sharpening operation.

In order to drive the grindstone laterally along a blade being sharpened, it is necessary to shift the platform in a lateral direction with respect to the length of the frame 8. To accomplish this, I provide a driving screw |29. The driving screw extendsthroughout the length of the sub-frame 6| and is journaled by bearings |2| which are mounted on the end plates 64 medially between the rails 62 and 83. The bearings |2| are of similar construction and are mounted in a manner similar to the bearings 13. Keyed to the opposite end portions of the driving screw |26 are clutch members |22. The opposite end portions of the driving screw |28 project beyond the clutch members |22 and are adapted to receive rotatably thereon pulleys |23 and |24. The pulleys |23 and |24 have thereon integral clutch members |25 and |26 which are provided with shifting grooves |21 and |28.

Rotatably connecting the pulley |23 with the pulley 11 is a crossed belt |29. An uncrossed or straight belt |30 rotatably connects the pulley |24 with the pulley 18. In order to engage and disengage the different clutch members, I provide shifting mechanism indicated in general at |3|. The shifting mechanism |3| includes a supporting strap |32 which is secured to the end plate 64 and a supporting strap |33. The supporting strap |33 is secured-to the end plate 65 in Alongitudinal alinement with the strap |32. The supporting straps are adapted to receive, at their Vcorresponding outer ends, the mid-portions of ShanksV |34 and |35 of shifting forks |36 and 3l. The shifting forks are adapted to have'yokes V|38 and |39 rotatably engageable in the grooves |21 and |28 of the integral clutch members |25 and |26. The corresponding outer end portions |40 and |4| are adapted to receive a shifting rod |42. The shifting rod |42 has its free endsecured to the portion |4| and is secured near its opposite end portion to the portion |40 of the shifting fork |36. The shifting forks are so positioned with respect to the shifting rod that, when theshifting rod is moved for engaging the clutch member |25 with the clutch member |22, the clutch member |26 will be disengaged from its associated clutch member |22. Of course, shifting of the rod in the opposite direction will have the effect of disengaging the formerly engaged clutch m-embers and engaging the formerly disengaged clutch members.

In order to permit easy movement of the shifting rod |42, I provide, as best Vseen in Figure 3 of the drawings, a shifting Vlever |43 which is pivotally mounted at its lower end portion in a bracket |44. The shifting rod |42 is connected to the lever |43 near the lower end thereof so that the ratio between the pivot point of the lower end of the lever and the point where the rod |42 is secured to said lever will be relatively small as compared with the distance between the connecting point of the rod |42 and the upper end portion of said lever |43. -The ratio of leverage will be large and shifting of the Vlever accordingly made easy. Upstanding from the bracket |44 is a stop plate |45 which is adapted to be engaged by the relatively short leg |46 of a substantially L-shaped locking lever |41 which is pivotally'connected with the lever |43 at |48 and is resiliently movable with respect thereto by the use of Va spring |49. Spaced notches |50 are cut in the leg |46 and are adapted to be 1received by the stop plate |45. It will be understood that shifting of the lever will engage either the drive pulley |24 or the drive pulley |23 with the screw and, as the belts |29 and |30 are adapted to transmit relatively reverse rotation to these pulleys |23 and |24, connection of one pulley will cause the driving screw to rotate in one direction while connection of the other pulley will cause opposite rotation of said driving screw.

The platform 83 is adapted to shift longitudinally, as heretofore described, and such longitudinal shifting movement of the platform on the sub-frame 6| is permitted through the medium of depending dogs |5| which are adapted to surround a nut |52 on the screw |20. 'Ihe nut |52 is conned between the dogs so that rotation of the screw |20 has the elect of causing the dogs, and thus the platform 83, to move longitudinally on the rails @2 and 63 of the sub-frame 6|.

In use, after the mower has been spaced on the standard I0 in the manner previously set forth, it is only necessary to move the grindstone 92 into engagement with the blade to be sharpened. This is done by rotating the crank 59 for moving the carriage 53 rearwardly until the proper operating position for the grindstone has been reached. 'I'he motor may then be energized for transmitting rotative movement to the grindstone and, at the same time, transmit movement to the pulleys 'I6 and Tl, the belts |29 and |30, and the pulleys |23 and |24.V The lever |47 is shifted to the desired position for connecting either the pulley |24 or the pulley |23, through the clutchmembers, to the screw |20 for rotating the screw in either one direction or the other. As the grindstone travels across the blade being sharpened, it will be held.V rigidly -against upward or Vdownward movement and will, Y therefore, cut an even swath across 'the'blade,

irrespective of the condition of the blade, so that an absolutely true edge for said blade will be provided. By the use of the work supporting bracketY |09, a uniform pressure of the blade to be sharpened upon the grindstone will be provided. It should be understood that, if desired, the electric motor may be dispensed with and manually driven means employed in lieu thereof.

The device is highly eicient in operation and durable in construction. It is believed that further description of the invention is unnecessary.

' by the carriage and including rails, a screw carried by the sub-frame, a drive shaft Ycarried by the sub-frame, a drive pulley keyed to rotate with said drive shaft and movable therealong, a platform carried by the sub-frame and movable laterallyon said sub-frame, said platform having means depending therefrom and engageable with the screw, blade sharpening means carried by the platform, means for rotating said blade sharpening means and said drive pulley, and a bracket carried by the platform and adapted to urge the drive pulley to move along the drive shaft, said last mentioned means cooperating with the pulley and screw for moving the platform and the blade sharpening means laterally of the sub-frame as the mower blade is being shaL pened.

2. In a device of the class described, a frame, mower supporting means carried by the frame for supporting a lawn mower for permitting sharpening of the blades thereof, a carriage carried by the frame, means for moving the carriage longitudinally of theV frame, a sub-frame carried by the carriage, a screw carried by the subframe and'having clutch members, pulleys carried by the screw and having clutch members selectively engageable with said rst mentioned clutch members for permitting rotation of the screw either in one direction or the other, a

platform carried by the sub-frame and movable laterally therealong, said platform having dogs, a nut carried on the screw and Yengageable by the dogs, rotation of said screw causing lateral movement in one direction or the other of said platform, means carried by the sub-frame for rotating the pulleys, aprirne mover for rotating said last Ymentioned means, and a blade sharpening stone carried by the platform andV operable by said prime mover simultaneously with the operation of the last mentioned means, said sharpening stone being adapted to engage the edge of a -blade forV effecting the sharpening operation and being movable thereacross in one.v direction or the other by said cooperating screw, platform and last mentioned means.

a sub-frame mounted on the carriage, a platform movable laterally on said sub-frame, a supporting bracket mounted on the platform and including an upstanding angle piece, a bracket supporting bar adjustably connected with said upstanding angle piece, a U-shaped bracket carried by said bracket supporting bar, a sharpening stone carried by said U-shaped bracket, a stub shaft supporting said sharpening stone, a work supporting bracket carried on said stub shaft and being adjustable for engaging a blade of the mower preceding that being sharpened whereby said blade being sharpened will be urged against the sharpening stone for effecting a sharpening operation, means carried by the platform for rotating the sharpening stone, means driven by said last mentioned means for moving said sharpening stone and platform along the sub-frame in one direction or the other, and means for moving the sharpening stone toward or away from the blade being sharpened.

4. In a device of the class described, a frame, a carriage mounted on the frame, a sub-frame mounted on the carriage, a screw carried by the sub-frame, clutch members for permitting imparting of rotative movement in either direction to said screw, supporting straps carried by the sub-frame, shifting forks carried by the supporting straps and engageable with certain of the clutch members, a shifting rod connecting said shifting forks so that certain of said clutch members will be engaged for imparting rotation in one direction to the screw while other clutch members are disengaged, a bracket carried by the sub-frame, a shifting lever carried by the bracket and engaged with the shifting rod for effecting the shifting of the clutch members, and means operable for sharpening a lawn mower blade, said last mentioned means being shiftable by rotation of the screw for traversing the blade during a sharpening operation.

WILLIAM F. INGLEMAN. 

